From the Beginning
Rachel's Care Packs is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making care packs for children and their families. Rachel's Care Packs started in July of 2015 by 15 year old Rachel. She recognized that laughter and smiling were the best kind of medicine. Rachel deals with chronic illnesses herself that have resulted in numerous hospital stays. Rachel started this to try to promote happiness during challenging times. To date, Rachel's Care Packs has sent over four hundred care packs across the world. The program right now focuses on families receiving treatment in Wisconsin as well as their child and sibling(s). Each child and their family receives an individualized care pack that reflects their likes, wants, or needs.
Rachel's Care Packs originally started in July of 2015, with the broad perspective that no matter where a child is in the United States, they can apply to receive a package. After a year, Rachel opened it to anyone in the world, from places like Canada, Australia, and the Philippines. This continued on, but Rachel did not feel like she was not making the difference that she intended to make. She loved creating care packs with general toys, games, and books; sending them out; and receiving pictures. In the beginning of the Fall of 2019, Rachel specialized with local Wisconsin families to enrich herself in her community. Being able to particularize care packages opened up a multitude of opportunities. Frequently, Rachel goes down to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin as well as the Ronald McDonald house to deliver packages.
Rachel's Story
Throughout Rachel's life, she was diagnosed with multiple rare illnesses including Post Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and colonic dysmotility. She was admitted to the hospital over fifteen times in three years. Each admission brought something new including testing, diagnosis, or more questions. She had her first surgery when she was 10 but her most life changing surgery happened in April of 2016. Prior to surgery, Rachel was admitted to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin weekly for NG clean outs. She was diagnosed with c. diff twice. C. diff is a bacterial infection in the intestines. It shut down her intestines but her family didn't have any answer to why this was happening. After extensive testing, Rachel was diagnosed with colonic dysmotility meaning her colon was not functioning properly due to slow movement. Rachel had her cecostomy placement which changed her life for the positive. She was free of the hospital and NG tube. Things started to look up until August of 2017 when a traumatic event changed everything. With more admissions and outpatient therapy appointments, things started back on the right track. One day in the middle of swim practice, Rachel collapsed on the deck and was believed to be having a stroke. After being brought to the hospital, doctors told her she did not have a stroke and instead was dehydrated. Leaving with my questions than answers, she persisted to figure out why this continued to happen. With her symptoms getting worse and changing, more extensive testing was required. After passing out and losing consciousness, she was finally diagnosed with Post Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Orthostatic Intolerance (OI), both forms of dysautonomia. Recently Rachel has struggled with more GI related issues that have yet to be diagnosed. Each day bring something new. With all the diagnosis's, Rachel remained positive and continued to smile through treatment. It was the only way Rachel knew how to live.
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